Well-Moulded Lies
by RadRapo
Summary: Things seem to be well for the Candyman and the Poltergeist, the former having vanquished the Clown to save the latter. However, once acquainted with the Helpful Hand, trouble still seems to be lurking, in the form of a manipulative entity. The Clown is still alive, and is out for spillits, and pie. This time, he has a new plan, so it won't be pretty for our trio of ClayFreaks.
1. 1-5

_**Well-Moulded Lies**_  
 _Written by StylishRapo_

 _ **1/5**_

The taffyman huffed a bit with crossed arms, watching the snowman walk away from him with a deeply pouting expression. "He can't ground me," He muttered bitterly, "I'm _older_ than him. Besides, who put _him_ in charge, anyway?"

"Mr. Frosty had a point, however," A pumpkin-headed poltergeist couldn't help but object, "It _is_ dangerous to wander alone, in a place unknown to you." The taffy being of Clay merely grunted in response at first, but took it lightly as he eventually settled down.

"Yeah well," He complained as he put a fist on his hip, "'Cause of that, the tour's gonna have to wait. Unless..." He paused, thinking for a moment with a finger to his chin. He suddenly smirked, looking over at the one next to him. He lowered his voice to a whisper as he continued, "Hey, Icky. Let's wait 'til all the others are snoozin'. We can totally sneak out!"

"Taffy, this shift will take a lot of getting used to," Icky replied in a mumble as he gourdpalmed. Taffy didn't understand a word he said, but let it go with a small shrug.

"So..." He soon replied, hoping to be wrong as he lightly nudged his friend with an elbow, "That a no?" When Icky nodded, Taffy frowned with another small pout. "Man, yer a bit borin'."

Icky soon stopped the gourdpalming, clearing his throat as he led Taffy around the pseudo base of the ClayFighters. "Anyway," Icky started, with Taffy following after him, "Icky was told that High was here, too. Thank goodness he was safe; he's become a sort of a traitor amongst the Doctor's malicious team; kind of like Icky himself." While Icky pursued on his search, Taffy stopped him briefly, pointing in a certain direction.

"Is he a gigantic Human hand with a whole buncha..." Taffy paused with a small grimace as he noticed the figure entirely, "Guts?" To his surprise, Icky lit up like a proper Halloween jack-o-lantern, grinning widely in happiness and proceeding to drag Taffy over to the aforementioned hand.

" _YES!_ " Taffy was all but helpless as Icky sped on over, "You'd be _EXACTLY_ right! High, OVER HERE!" With the last sentence, Icky waved frantically with his other hand, garnering the attention of the other, who immediately faced the source of the commotion, seeming to light up as well with well-expressed body language, running over to the two beings of Clay.

"ICKYYYYY!" The dismembered appendage called as he attempted to pounce Icky, only to phase through him. Icky merely let out a soft giggle from this, while the hand landed on his fingers. He mused in false-sadness, "Aw, not again," as he turned around to face the other two before him.

The two shared a sickeningly cute reunion filled with sappy hugs, although Icky was the only one who was hugging by the true definition. Taffy, not knowing what to do, just stood there and watched it unfold, noticing how... Happy they were; happier than how their own reunion went, that's for sure. When they were finally finished, they parted from the embrace, Icky gesturing toward Taffy.

"High Five, this is Taffy," Icky introduced, clearly in a better mood than previously, "The one Icky's been telling you about! We finally found each other again, after all this time!" High appeared delighted, jumping a bit before extending his pinkie for what seemed like a handshake of some sort. Meanwhile, Taffy caught Icky's latter portion with ease, feeling a bit humbled. He soon returned the gesture, although it felt a bit strange.

"Yeah, nice to meetcha!" Taffy soon replied, before looking over at Icky again, "You've... Really talked 'bout me?" Instead, High answered, excitement in his tone. Thus, Icky decided to keep quiet, to observe how well the two would interact together.

"Yeah, Icky's told me _tons_ about you!" Was High's response, "That you liked to make sweets, that family's really important to you, and friends, and how kind-hearted you were, not to mention that Icky missed you..." High paused for a few moments, before his tone turned a bit shy, "I've been waiting for a long time to be able to meet you, if I can be honest. You sounded like a really cool guy." To all this, Taffy blinked, surprised and even more humbled from just how much Icky would speak of him, realizing that he wasn't the only one who missed the other.

"Well, damn!" Taffy finally said, hiding the humble feeling by showing pride, "I've gotta hand it to him; Icky sure knows his fizz around here-" He stopped as High abruptly busted a gut laughing, flipping onto his back and waving his fingers in a spazing manner. At first, Taffy seemed a bit confused, until High said something.

"'Gotta _hand_ it to him'!" He struggled to speak through his laughter, "That... That was BEAUTIFUL!" Quickly, Taffy seemed to get it, letting out a small chuckle from it all, though he never intended on the pun.

"Oh, wow," He spoke, though couldn't keep a straight face, "Didn't realize ya liked puns so bad." He made a small pause, before having a new realization come crashing over him. "Wait, is that why yer called High Five- Oh, oh my _God...!_ I get it!"

Icky continued to look on in wonder and happiness, hoping that Taffy's fruity language habit wouldn't have made a turn-off, as well as some other 'traits' Taffy seemed to inherit from being a sour flavor. Just the opposite; High didn't seem to mind and they appeared to be hitting it off rather well, to the point where they would probably (and easily) become friends.

But in Taffy's mind, he hoped that he was still Icky's number one. Just the thought of being replaced filled him with dread, and he had no intention of letting it happen. _Just gonna have to make sure to gently put ol' High in his place,_ He thought to himself, _And to let him know that the BFF zone is_ _ **mine**_ _._

"Man," Taffy said after these thoughts, the laughter from the both of them finally dying away, "Maybe bein' grounded won't be so bad after all. All that matters is that I can't 'leave the reef for a week' and fizz like that. I can still do whatever the hell I wanna! And..." Taffy came over to them, bringing them both around his arms, "With ya guys around, it'll be a cinch!"

"Are you saying that we're your playmates?" Icky couldn't help but ask, strangely not phasing out of Taffy's lunge to them. Taffy rose an eyebrow, pffting a bit to that.

"What? No!" He chuckled afterward, "I mean that just ya guys _bein' here'll_ help, that's all! Geez, ya ain't slaves or anythin'..." When Taffy pulled away from the two of them, he thought to himself once again, _I got my eye on ya, Hand. Better not do anythin' TOO funny._ High, however, turned to Icky, musing to him.

"He seems nice!" He did so cheerfully, blissfully unaware of the whole situation.

It was later in the night, most of the other castaways (including High) settling down to sleep. High was out already just after he'd listened to a story Taffy was telling, but only because he was begged to. Taffy soon noticed Icky nearby, quietly calling out to him, Icky floating over.

"Ya know," Taffy whispered to him lightly as he led Icky away from most of the others, instead into the jet itself, "It's actually a good thing that ya said no to sneakin' out. I'm tired as hell, and I'd probably just crash at some point." His voice grew in volume the further away they got, while Icky seemed to notice that the jet was still mostly intact, despite the crash.

"You sleep in here...?" Icky asked him as they dwelled deeper into the jet, until Taffy stopped at a set of seats, opening a compartment above and pulling out a large bag of something. Taffy nodded, continuing on until he found an empty spot, opening the bag and dumping it - the only contents being a hoard of saltwater taffy of many assorted flavors. While anyone else would've been surprised, Icky was completely undeterred.

"Yup," Taffy finally said in response, before moving the bag elsewhere, "It's just better this way, that's all. But it kinda sucks that yer nocturnal and stuff; I don't get to hang around ya for long." He took a step back, then jumped cleanly into the new pile, shifting around and getting into a comfortable position, the wrapped pieces covering nearly all of his body. "I don't care, though. I'm just glad yer back."

"Yes, it's been a long time," Icky agreed almost immediately, seating himself in the closest chair, "This... This reminds Icky of when we were in Clayland, how we would just... Share some sweets, swap some stories about what was going on, rating Tiny every night with an 'Arrogant Jackassometer', if he recalls correctly..."

"OH YEAH...!" Taffy quickly recalled with a small laugh, "I remember the Jackassometer! That was the _best_. Also, I uh... I know how ya like to wander at night, but I kinda sorta wanna ask ya one tinsy-tiny favor." He paused, frowning a bit now in a bit of hesitation, "Do ya think ya would stick around 'til I'm asleep? Kinda like how we used to...?"

Icky's eyeholes widened as his expression changed; he certainly didn't expect Taffy to either remember this much or to actually request such a thing, since he was starting to think that Taffy would seem like the kind of person to be all like "I'm too old for that". But instead... Icky nodded with a grin, floating away from the chair and now seating himself on the ground, adjusting so that his lap and tail went underneath all the little pieces of stretchy confections.

He could swear that he heard a small "Yay" uttered by the candy ClayFighter, though it was a tad difficult since Taffy was readjusting himself so that his eyestalk was curled against Icky's lap.

"Say... Where are ya gonna sleep?" Taffy spoke directly this time, though his question was light-hearted, "Since yer with us now, would it seem weird to be sleepin' around here, or..." Icky soon shook his head.

"No," Icky's reply was soft, while his hand cupped Taffy's shoulder, "Icky prefers his Mansion. After all, it's much easier to keep out the dreaded Sun's light. Plus, he is most comfortable in a coffin..."

"Heh, yeah, that's true," Taffy nodded in understanding, welcoming Icky's previous gesture wholeheartedly. It was quiet for a bit longer, until Taffy continued, "Ya know, it's weird, actually. How we're friends, that is. I like the daytime, and especially the warm Sun, except when it might make me melt, of course. But... Ya hate day, ya hate the Sun."

"Yes," Icky listened with agreement, before adding, "And you find the sunny daytime joyful and full of possibility; meanwhile you believe that Icky's preference to darkness and rain spells sadness and gloom. It's not true; night can be just as beautiful, and rain is rather relaxing, and necessary at times. Everything is based on perception, and Icky perceives the daylight as blinding and threatening. Condescending, even."

"... Damn, never thought of it that way," Taffy mused after a bit more of thought, though his eyelids grew heavier with each passing moment. He continued on, though not without a good yawn, "Though the Sun's pretty important, too. Sun, rain... They both work together, ya know...?"

"They do," Icky agreed lightly, and before he knew it, Taffy was out like a light. Icky couldn't help but to chuckle quietly to himself, missing calm moments like these, having craved them for so long. Sure, he had High to partake in some of those moments, but they were never quite the same as with Taffy. He's special...

Icky soon made sure to carefully part from his friend, as to not awaken him, before floating out of the jet's interior, soon enough disappearing into the jungles entirely. It was just the ordinary poltergeist business as usual.

* * *

The footsteps were in an unsteady rhythm as a still fairly wounded clown used a doorknob as an adequate balance. It was only a bit ago where he'd regained consciousness, quickly followed by rage of the insane kind. Once able to continue, the knob was turned, then opened, as he made his way inside the Research Room.

It didn't go unnoticed as the sounds of teeth gnawing on a bone assaulted his hearing, only to hear a pause. The clown looked over without even so much as a turn of the head, eying a nearby mutated dog, who seemed to have a questionable amount of rows of dangerously sharp teeth. The dog eyed him back, grimacing at his wounds and wanting to speak, only for that chance to be silenced by a different voice altogether.

"Bonker." The voice began, a new person revealing himself from across the room. German in accent and dripping with a mad scientist cliche, he was seated in a nice-looking black leather chair, watching various TV screens showcasing various locations of the island through hidden cameras. "I was about to zink you were going to be gone all night. Report." Bonker took one look at the TV screens before them, before he replied.

"Why don't you see for yourself, Doctor? My embarrassing failures should be right there, captured on film for all to see."

"Zese cameras don't see all," The Doctor merely replied, "Stop trying to be so smart; I'm the one running ze whole production, and you're a mere henchman to forward my plans. So, do explain zese... Failures."

Bonker swiftly grew a glare from the Doctor's words, but knew better than to try anything, lest his... Dog spring to his defense. "Ickybod has betrayed us," He instead spoke, this time bluntly. "He's decided to-"

"Bah!" The Doctor interrupted, waving it off with his only remaining hand. "He wasn't zat good as what he does, anyway. Just eliminate him. I have plenty of others to aid me."

"About that," Bonker said, more expressively this time, "Ghost boy's got a bodyguard; a candyman, of sorts. He beat me to the ground, revolver blazing. I'm lucky to have survived a candy bullet through the skull; point-blank ranged, must I add." The Doctor, however, seemed to pay no mind, not even looking at the clown before him.

"What are you complaining about?" He soon spoke, "How do you zink you survived a blow like zat? Do you even realize what _sugar_ does to wounds?" When Bonker couldn't respond, the Doctor sighed in a bit of frustration. "Zat _bullet_ , made of candy and zus, _sugar_ , accelerates the natural healing process with lessened pain. So, gather your bearings and eliminate the both of zem."

This time, Bonker seemed to understand, but didn't respond. Instead, he turned away from the Doctor entirely, unsteadily making his way back to the door. This time, the dog from before was able to speak without his master's interference.

"You know, if you need help..." He spoke out, though unusually subdued. Regardless, Bonker stopped him before he could finish his proposal, scowling over at the dog.

"This is my business and _no one else's_ , got it, mutt?" He practically sneered, "The first failure was just a fluke, that's all." He ignored the way the dog mutant drew away, only going back to his chewed up bone with the slightest of whimpers. Bonker instead went to turn the knob again, leaving the Research Room while still having less than sturdy steps.

"This time, I won't make any mistakes," He muttered to himself as he started making his way across the somewhat incredibly deadly pair of bridges. He vaguely noticed a certain witch doctor fleeting hurriedly across the other bridge, just as much as the other failed to notice Bonker. Even as the witch doctor practically threw open the doors in a frantic frenzy, Bonker continued to himself.

"There will be no bowing to the true Ringmaster. There'll only be death; the most painful possible."


	2. 2-5

_**2/5**_

A few nights have passed since the reunion, meanwhile Icky was all to himself in his Graveyard, lost in communion with spirits of the deceased. Icky watched with his entranced state from where he was seated, as he saw one image after another. The images portrayed tension and rough times to come, but immediately followed with peace and happiness on the horizon. Even as Icky pressed for further explanation, the spirits insisted on their prior givings.

These two prophecies couldn't possibly happen at the same time, and it confused Icky deeply as he had no way of knowing how it could piece together like this. Eventually, he let out a drawn sigh, choosing to disconnect from the trance, the holes in his gourd stopping it's apparent glow as he focused on his physical surroundings once more.

 _Perhaps they are tricking me,_ Icky thought to himself as he floated over to the Mansion's front doors, _They have a habit of doing that more than anything. Just because I'm an Undead, too; Undeads don't mix well with the Deceased, nor the Mortal. Talk about rude! You'd think that the Deceased would be filled with wisdom and maturity! Alas..._

Icky soon paused, sensing a Mortal presence. He didn't turn around immediately, however. As the presence grew in strength, so did the hearing and scent.

 _That is not anyone good I know..._ He thought to himself once again, his recollection becoming clear as he swiftly faced whoever was on the other side of his property. Gaining a justifiable expression of hostility, he bellowed out to the darkness, " **SHOW YOURSELF, CARNIVAL DEVIANT.** " Soon after, a few more footsteps were heard as Bonker revealed himself. Unlike a few days ago, his movements were more balanced, even for a clown's definition.

"My goodness, settle down!" He initially spoke in reply, a smirk forming upon his face. "It shouldn't have been any surprise that I'm still here, Ickybod. It'll take a whole lot more than a bullet to the face to keep me down. Anyway, my visit isn't an evil one - this time." His pause before his last two words were intentional, his manic grin widening as he'd done so.

"I'm just here to warn you about something I noticed about... The others you're hanging around," Bonker soon continued, remaining where he stood, although it only proved to keep Icky tense. "How can I put this... You shouldn't trust any of them. In fact, don't trust anyone at all, least of all me; except for this, of course. Oh, and I suppose that hand friend of yours; he couldn't hurt anyone even if he wanted, so you can trust him with your life - er, I mean, unlife."

While Bonker seemed to emit a harmless giggle, Icky's hands were clenched into fists, growling deeply at the clown in rage. "Icky doesn't believe a word you say," He spoke, bitterly with a hushed tone.

"Well, it's really quite simple," Bonker shrugged a bit, his tone still as calm as ever, "Anyone can fake emotions and feelings, lulling others into a false sense of security and trust. This is called Acting; and some are very very VERY good at it! But to someone who knows a lot about it, I can see right through their lies. They don't actually care about you... Especially that candy freak." His last words were in a slight mutter, though he knew that Icky would take the bait.

In fact, Icky quickly floated over to the clown, hissing at him in fury. His voice was filled to the brim with spooky nuances as he gave a firm reply, "Don't you _**dare**_ say such things about them. You are merely telling blasphemous lies!" Bonker only blinked from Icky's apparent theatrics, being amused by it and not threatened at all. He turned away, his grin ever wider than before. If it were possible for it to challenge Taffy's stretchiness, this would be it.

"Be that as it may," Bonker soon replied, reaching into his magical party hat and somehow pulling out a unicycle, "That's just what _I've_ come to conclude after studying their behaviors. Especially your lanky, yellow bodyguard..." He paused to mount it, expertly and with no trouble whatsoever. "He may as well have beaten me up just to make do for what happened a good while before all this hodge podge. He probably didn't even care that you were part of the equation, nor would you be his real, actual goal in defeating me!" While he could tell that Icky was thinking of numerous ways to shut him up for good, he wasn't even the least bit fazed, in actuality letting out a clownish laugh, even though it was a far cry from a normal one.

"But fine," He continued, only to finish up with a final look at the angry poltergeist before him, "You're welcome to think for yourself and for how you feel they perceive you. I could be mistaken, who knows?" With another comical shrug, he waved to Icky as he soon wheeled off into the trees ahead. It was somehow still expertly, even though the terrain was anything but smooth. Meanwhile, Icky was still completely enraged over what he'd just heard, though he couldn't help but to actually consider what was said.

Eventually, Icky shook his jack-o-lantern head, deciding to disbelieve it. _I'll just study them for myself,_ He thought boldly, _I'll prove him wrong, about everyone and everything, especially Taffy. He cares the most, after all... Right?_

* * *

Another night's dance, so shines the stars and Moon.

"Alright," The muscular snowman was announcing to the group of castaways/allies, "Before we can even begin striking the madman where it hurts, let's go over what we do know. Thank Jack Frost that The Blob came back from..." A short, confused pause ensued, before he looked over at the green blob-looking creature next to him. "Actually, why don't _you_ explain it?"

"If I must," He sighed in response, before turning to the crowd, "I don't remember ever coming here; the last I recalled, we were falling, quite fast, from in our jet. From the looks of things, we managed to survive a devastating crash. The very next thing I remember is feeling volts of electricity current through me." He too, paused for a few moments to recollect more information. "Turns out, a local Voodooist was behind it all. For electrocution and calling me a 'clay thing' to 'experiment on', I beat him to a pulp, then ended up here through travel. It's unknown if the Voodooist has any connection to Dr. Kiln or his schemes."

"Hopefully, we'll know for sure without much more... Issues," The snowman nodded in approval, then turning to the others. "What else?" Through the whole discussion, Icky felt the time was right to introduce all of his knowledge, but just as he went to speak up... The thoughts plagued him again.

 _What would be the point if they won't take me home?_ He couldn't help but ponder in his mind, _What if they don't even want me back...?_

"Well, how about Kiln himself?" High suddenly spoke up over Icky's thoughts, "I could tell you every little thing I know about that jerk! I, uh... Used to be his right-hand man, after all..." His last sentence was a bit hesitant, but it soon faded away as the snowman nodded yet again in acknowledgement, same going for literally everyone else in the group.

"Any and all information you have will help us understand how to deal with him," Blob replied in a calm, yet earnest tone, "Please, feel free to share. We'll see to it that he mistreats you no more."

"Speaking of mistreatment," A statue lady who heavily resembled the Statue of Liberty piped in, seeming to have thought this through for a while. "I've taken it upon myself to study T-Hoppy's strange behavior; from my research, he hasn't actually changed - he may've been brainwashed to obey Dr. Kiln. If we defeat the madman, T-Hoppy may return to normal." While the rest of the group considered it, Blob chose to reply once again.

"If we may study a bit further," He said, carefully choosing his words, "We can judge that possibility more accurately. We'd also need to then consider how to deactivate, or reverse, the brainwashing technique." The statue lady nodded in agreement.

"We start at dawn," She replied, matter-of-factly.

"Well, that's great and all..." Taffy spoke up with a non-stretchy stretch to the star-filled sky, "But I gotta say: totally didn't see Bonker comin', workin' for that weirdo. But that ain't a problem anymore, 'cause I took good care of that guy. He won't be buggin' us, so we can scratch him out." Unlike the responses given to the others before, Taffy's words were met with the slightest bit of annoyance, although most tried to simply humor him. However, the snowman didn't budge.

"Yeah, but where do you think that got you?" He spoke in a retort. Taffy huffed, pointing to the one seated just next to him.

"I got us our good ol' pal back!" He responded, though his voice had raised a bit, "That was like, one of our long-term _goals,_ man! Oh, and not to mention, one less bad guy to fight? And even better, a guy whose guts I hated?" Blob rose part of his unibrow, as if he hasn't heard about this before.

"Slow down for a second," His voice cut in, though not in a hostile way. He looked Taffy in the eyes as he continued afterward, "Taffy. You went out there in the jungles, defeated Bonker, and came back with Ickybod?" When Taffy nodded, Blob asked another question, "All by yourself?"

"Yup, that was all me!" Taffy laughed a bit in pride, as if hoping that at least Blob would get it. "See? I can do things, too!" Blob was moved only by the smallest amount, before he briefly looked over at the snowman next to him.

"You made a good decision," He mumbled, only for Taffy to suddenly glare.

"What's _THAT_ supposed to mean?"

During all of this, Icky decided to excuse himself, and surprisingly, no one seemed to notice. They were too distracted by Taffy's outbursts to pay attention, it was thought. Little did Icky know, however, a few did notice his absence; Taffy felt the sudden lighter shift in weight nearby, but got caught up in a bickerfest, and High realized that Icky had simply left the group. While distracted, High got up and left as well, following after the poltergeist.

"Icky...?" High gently asked as he approached him, "Are you okay? I didn't make you feel weird or anything, right?" Icky noticed his approach long before, though shook his head from the words asked. He couldn't look at him, only staring at the Moon above at first.

"N... No," Icky soon found his words, his clawed hands pressing against his chest, where his undead heart would be. "You didn't do anything wrong, High. Icky is... Troubled, by something else."

"Yeah, you do seem that way..." High replied, his tone still soft, even relieved slightly, "Is it just... Telling the others what you know? Or something else... Else?" Icky didn't answer for a short while, but it was apparent he was ready to when he'd abruptly turned, facing the giant hand before him.

"Bonker is alive," Icky at first mumbled, his expression saddened and stressed, "And he's told Icky how he thinks about the others, that... That Icky shouldn't trust them. And-"

"Bonker's ALIVE?" High seemed to panic at first, before he was quickly shushed by Icky, in the form of being held. "Sorry, that was a bit..."

"Please, don't tell anyone," Icky pleaded quietly, his tone almost desperate, "Promise Icky that you won't tell anyone what we've said, or that Bonker is alive. Not yet..."

"O-Okay, I promise," High replied in defeat, while Icky finally pulled away from him slowly. "But, I say that you shouldn't let yourself believe anything that clown guy says. He's wrong; we all really do care about you, Icky! We wouldn't fool you like that, honest! I mean... They really want you to come back to Muddville and stuff, so they-..." High suddenly stopped mid-sentence, before letting out a few forced coughs, although he didn't have any need to. "Just trust me on this, okay?" While Icky was confused by High's strange actions, he soon neverminded them, looking away.

"Icky trusts you with a hundred percent certainty, he really does," He soon spoke, softening his tone over time, "It's the others Icky's getting doubtful of. Even... Even Taffy, and he is the closest Icky has." There was a long pause this time, while High gasped a bit in surprise. Just as he was about to spring to the defense, Icky decided to speak again.

"You wouldn't know it, because you just met him not too long ago," He started, his hands holding onto his arms in wariness, "But when Icky met him, Taffy was a completely different person. He was so shy and quiet, frightened easily by others and only freely talked to Icky. The idea of him fighting anyone was pure fantasy, as he'd rather flee the scene and hide, than to face the aggressor." Icky paused with a bittersweet sigh.

"But now, something's changed," He soon continued, his voice getting more quiet as he progressed. "And it can't have simply been a realization of flavor, his 'sourness'. Just because he is, doesn't mean he has to be..." Eventually, Icky shook his head again, approaching High, but only to nudge him away with a sad smile. "Nevermind it, High. Icky will try to see the truth, and he hopes that the truth is yours."

At first, High didn't want to budge, but respected Icky's wishes to be alone, so he started to crawl away. He spoke one last time, as he left. "Well, okay... If you say so. But, try not to worry, alright?"


	3. 3-5

_**3/5**_

For the longest time, the sound of gently crashing waves to the shore was all Icky could hear as he gazed up at the Moon. First Quarter, but it didn't ease his tension. He could feel it in his very being, deep in the confines of his viney body, nestled in his healthy supply of spillits. Sleep was becoming harder and harder to come by, all because of what he'd been told from what seemed so long ago.

Yet, the thoughts wouldn't recede, not in the least bit.

 _As much as I hate to admit it,_ He thought to himself, growing more somber by the passing moment, _I'm starting to see what he meant. It hurts so much... No, it's just my lack of sleep, is all. Exhaustion and stress, yes. Making me... Delusional in what others perceive me. They couldn't possibly..._

His thoughts trailed off there, his gourd only frowning further from the denial. Icky had been in deep enough thoughts to not have sensed a presence, so he was surprised for the first time when he heard the most casual and upbeat of footsteps, with a bit of a whistling tune, from not far off. It seemed strangely on cue, but that was also impossible.

The scent of artificial lemon was all Icky needed to know as the newcomer soon was nearby him, but kept stood up while Icky was sat in the sand.

"Heya," Taffy greeted him with the same casualness as before, "Mind if I join?" Before Icky could give an answer, Taffy decided to seat himself next to the poltergeist, bringing a leg to his chest while resting an arm upon his knee. His other leg sprawled in front of him while his arm gave some support. After all this, Taffy sighed a bit, looking up at the sky before them. Clear, starry.

"I can't sleep," He initially said to Icky, but after a pause added, "That's not an invitation to do what we did a few nights ago. Unless ya wanna." When his response was just a headshake, Taffy frowned a bit, before brightening up once more. "But hey, good news is I'm almost off the hook! Ya know what _that_ means!"

"Yes, you get free reign over Claymodo's exploration," Icky nodded this time, though his reply was quiet in tone. Taffy just seemed to laugh it off, oblivious to Icky's current emotions.

"Man, it'll be so GREAT!" Taffy began, his excitement starting to show itself on a higher level. "We can finally hang out and stuff, without all the others havin' to be around! I mean really, ya have it so easy, Icky; ya get to go wherever ya want, do whatever ya want, and no one freaks out over it! All like 'OH NO WHERE'D HE GO WHAT IF HE GETS A PAPERCUT OR SOMETHING'." He paused once again, frowning a second time. "I just wanna be treated like everyone else, all equal and fizz. But instead, I'm treated like a child. It's unfair..."

While Icky decided to not interrupt, Taffy soon chuckled a bit to himself, starting up again. "It's actually kinda funny. A long time ago, I would've been scared silly to do much more than just _exist_ to everyone else. But now, that whole idea's been pushed onto them; they're scared that their fragile ol' Taffy'll get hurt. But I ain't some fragile lil' thing who can't defend somebody. I'm better than that now! ... I just wish they could realize that, too."

"Maybe it's because Icky is more mature..." Icky finally mused, though more to himself than anything. Although Taffy didn't catch the words, he caught that Icky tried to speak. This caused him to turn his gaze away from the starry sky, changing direction to the poltergeist next to him.

"Excuse me?" He simply asked, his tone genuinely asking, though Icky only shook his head again.

"Nothing," He spoke, leaving it at that with more silence. From here on, however, Taffy couldn't help but unleash his curiosity, now seeming to notice that Icky appeared a bit... Off.

"Ya know..." He began once again after the silence, "Ya do seem a bit out of it. Actin' a bit strange, even. I just... I didn't wanna say somethin' immediately, 'cause I... I thought it might've just been some personal business, and if ya wanted me to know, ya would've told me by now. I realize that a 'Is somethin' up' every now and then woulda helped, but..."

Icky could hear the way Taffy was speaking to him, sensing how much it held hesitation, and some slight guilt. Despite it, however, Icky's heart burned with rage, although he didn't allow it to show through. Yet, his next words made it hard to hide.

"So, you're _finally_ asking Icky?" It was almost a growl, one that made Taffy cringe a bit. Even though it made him draw back slightly, he wasn't about to scoot away or get up to leave.

"I...!" Taffy tried to start, but his words failed him for a few moments. "Icky, if somethins buggin' ya, ya can tell me anythin'. I just..." Icky simply sneered this time, rising from his sitting posture and floating over to elsewhere - where High was sleeping with the others. Taffy immediately got up and followed after him, worry beginning to cloud over him.

"Icky seems to understand now," Icky was musing, not caring if Taffy was following him, "None of these castaways care whether Icky was undead, or deceased!" He paused with an abrupt turn toward the candy ClayFighter behind him. "And you, Taffy, are the worst offender. Whatever happened to the Taffy who cared so deeply for more than simply himself?" Icky sharply turned back, now approaching High entirely, lightly shaking him awake.

"Come, High," Icky lightly spoke to him, his tone calmer but still contained that agitated undertone, "This isn't a safe place, anymore. From now on, we live in the Mansion." High was barely considered conscious, so he didn't quite understand the context of Icky's sentences. Instead, he lightly agreed, rising to his fingertips and proceeding to follow Icky out to the jungle's interior. All the while, Taffy couldn't keep from following the two of them.

"Icky, c'mon!" He nearly exclaimed at this point, his worrisome emotions beginning to reach their peak. "I'm still right here! Please, Icky..." He paused again, trying to keep himself as calm as possible, even if it was failing. "Just tell me what's the matter. Or if I said somethin' wrong. Anythin'!" As they reached the vast border to the jungle, Icky looked back at Taffy one last time, his expression holding disgust and contempt.

"Stay away from us," Was all he said in reply, taking High by the index finger and darting the both of them deep inside. Taffy, meanwhile, was stunned out of his mind, full of confusion and worry, wishing he knew how he screwed up so badly that Icky would _abandon all trust_ in him and the rest of the crew.

He looked back at the others, who were still deeply asleep, before turning again to the jungle's exterior. He hesitated for the longest time, taking step forwards but retreating nigh immediately. Eventually, he took a deep breath, and after one last moment, he leaped between the trees, giving chase at long last.

The poltergeist and the hand may've not had too much trouble, but Taffy had to work in order to weave his way around the ground, pushing back branches and leaves and Wonka knew what else just to keep up with them. Eventually however, he paused as their destination was shown at last - Muddville Mansion. From there, Taffy stood, panting a bit as he looked on from behind the fencing to the Ghastly Graveyard.

 _This REALLY ain't like him,_ He thought to himself, determination rooting in his core, _He must be losin' his mind over SOMETHIN', and I gotta know what! If only to just... Help him feel better._ Just as Taffy let himself into the graveyard in front of him, it's then when he saw the front doors of the mansion open, revealing only Icky from the other side.

"High, please stay inside," He spoke to High, who seemed to be within the walls of the mansion as well, but out of Taffy's sight. Turning sharply to Taffy now, Icky left the mansion, the doors closing shut behind him. His gourd showed a scowl as he eyed the candy ClayFighter nearby. He rose his voice as he spoke out to him, "Is this a game to you? This vengeance, this attainment of a prize, this new-found glory?"

Taffy walked over to Icky, his face changing, the expression stuck between confusion and worry. "Icky," He pleaded this time, his voice turned low in volume, "Please just tell me what's goin' on." Taffy couldn't help but jump when he heard a sudden, loud thunderclap, it being nearby enough to have shaken the earth he stood on. His gaze turned skyward for a few moments, seeing how the stars and Moon above began to get blotted out by dark, unfriendly storm clouds.

 _Icky must be doin' this,_ He thought to himself again, only getting more concern for the one before him, _If he's manipulatin' weather like this, then that means..._ His thoughts paused for a moment, before he found a realization. _He's REALLY gone off the deep end...!_ As if giving more signs of this idea, he heard Icky let out a chuckle, one of a freaky fashion. Looking back over at him, the look of utter disdain just wouldn't leave Icky's face.

"I'm not playin' around," Taffy spoke to him again, this time his voice more unsteady, "I really wanna know what's doin' this to ya." Unlike moments before, Icky didn't remain silent as he gave a sinister reply.

"You would like to know..." It was coupled with a scoff. Taffy took a few moments, then reached out to Icky, as bravely as he could. As rain began to abruptly pour from above, it was clear that Taffy's volume was still rather quiet, it almost being overpowered. Yet, he didn't let it stop him.

"We... We can talk this out," He said to Icky, his tone now in a begging manner. "We can fix this. Don't shut yerself away from everyone else just 'cause of somethin' ya think is true." He paused with a deep breath, the words he just spoke triggering another form of deja vu; it was the kind he wanted to try to ignore. "Whatever yer thinkin' 'bout the others, it's not... It's not like that!"

For a moment, it appeared that he may've finally gotten through to Icky, only to see him shake his head quickly, followed by his arm being smacked away. Since it wasn't held out strongly, it took a beating just from the action before. It caused Taffy to flinch and draw back, but he couldn't back down. Instead, he stepped forward more.

With a growl, Icky suddenly used his tail to seize Taffy, his grip around his body being rather tight, too tight. Taffy's immediate response was a yelp of surprise, followed by instinctive squirming as lightning began their rounds from afar, thunderclaps not long after.

"ICKY-!" Taffy tried to speak, but Icky quickly interrupted him, as if not hearing him at all.

" **FILTHY LIAR!** " Icky shrieked, his tone only that of pure anger. Afterwards, his tail threw Taffy harshly into the ground just below him. It caused Icky to rebound, jumping a few feet away from the impact site. While Taffy was dazed for a moment, he quickly got right back up, sighing to himself. He didn't seem harmed at all by the throw, but that was partially expected.

"So that's how ya wanna play, huh?" He spoke, his tone still soft, but determined once again. It was almost an unsaid understanding of what needed to be done. "Fine. Hurt me all ya want, just so I can understand why _yer_ hurtin'!" With that, he sprang to Icky, only to be met with fists and tail; it was first one, then the other. Despite yelps and gasps of pain and new wounds forming on his body, Taffy didn't back down.

Soon spillits began to pop out of him, but he still didn't give in. Each time he was thrown or tossed away, once nearly landing on one of the fencing's sharp poles, all he'd do was rise to his feet again and come forward in a sprint.

"TELL ME, DAMMIT!" He cried out, even as Icky lifted him with his spooky powers and tossed him aside yet again, causing Taffy to crash against a large tombstone. Eventually, it got to the point where getting back up took more effort than normal.

Even with uneasy footsteps, he still approached Icky, although his pace was much more slowed than before. Even when the pain was growing unbearable, he forced himself to reach out to him, call out to him by name, look deep into his empty eyeholes.

That was, until Taffy found Icky's hands around his neck.

Icky had attacked him once again, ending it with a drop kick that sent Taffy tumbling to the ground. Not letting him the chance to recover and stand, Icky's arms swooped down, his hands gripping Taffy by the throat and pulling him up until he was standing on his knees. As the hands squeezed, Taffy's own grappled onto Icky's, trying to pull them off enough to breathe. Through it all, he heard Icky cackle, and it was completely out of nowhere.

"Icky could..." There was a brief pause, before he continued, "Icky could murder you, here and now. He could even make it look like you did it yourself...!" He stared down into Taffy's eyes, his face absolutely horrifying to a passerby, which was reflected in Taffy's returned gaze. Never before did he ever look this frightened, and with whatever breath he had left to use, he spoke to Icky.

"Yer... Yer scarin'... Me..." It was so quiet and hoarse, yet genuine to the core. As Icky felt Taffy's grip weakening, Icky's whole expression changed, something clicking in his mind. Voices in his mind from a memory, to be exact.

 _"Damn it, Taffy! What's it going to take to scare you?"_

 _"Well... Ya almost had me there. But as soon as I saw ya, I wasn't scared of a darn thing. Familiar faces just kinda kill it for me."_

 _I... Am I really acting in a such a way that he doesn't even recognize me anymore...? This is what it takes? It's inhumane, it's immoral, it's...! Horrifying..._

Icky's hands immediately let go, causing Taffy to fall to the ground once again. Icky overheard him gasp and pant for air while he looked down at his sharp-clawed hands. _What have I been doing? Is this really what it's come down to, murder? He's done nothing but reach out to me, never once fighting back or running away. And yet, he's punished with wounds... Would an actor really die for information?_ From his thoughts, his hands began to shiver, before he clenched them into fists. Once more, he looked upon Taffy, for the first time noticing something.

Even in his desperate-for-air position, Icky could clearly see a floaty, wisping orb of color in Taffy's upper torso area, where his heart was. The color was of the most saturated golden yellow one could possibly have, a most similar color from when the two first met - back then, it'd been a lighter, desaturated yellow. His view was obstructed slightly, by Taffy eventually trying to get to his feet; though of course with his squeaky pants, it was taking a lot longer than before. It was almost as if he was using all of his willpower just to stand.

All the while, Icky was physically in peak condition.

"D-Do... Whatever ya gotta do, to calm d-down," He suddenly spoke to Icky once more, grunting in his words as he fought to keep his balance, "Just tell me... What's b-botherin' ya so much..."

 _Despite his new demeanor,_ Icky soon found himself thinking, _Taffy is still Taffy; he's the Taffy I met and knew, the one who cared, and still does..._ As the wisp in Taffy's torso flickered and moved about inside, Icky began to slip more into his thoughts. _How have I never noticed until this very moment? Was I too blind to see the souls of others?_

Regardless of the reason, Icky abruptly looked away, feeling tears beginning to form in his eyeholes. Without another word, he quickly floated over to the front doors, opening them up only to call out for High's assistance. It's here that the rain slowed to a stop, the noises of storm and thunder ceasing as well. The clouds flew away by wind, revealing the stars and Moon that was once hidden from view.

As High joined the two of them soon enough, it was clear by High's body language that he showed great concern for the heavily wounded Taffy, even if he was still so exhausted.

"Please, take him back to the wreckage site," Icky was telling him, his tone a lot more soft and calmer than before. "He can't... Taffy can't move around so well on his own... Which was all Icky's fault." He got the courage to look at Taffy, before bowing to him. "He apologizes for his behavior. It was inexcusable." To Icky's surprise, he saw Taffy's arm reach out to him, as softly as ever, even if it looked as if it took great effort to do such a simple action. Unlike before when Icky would've smacked it away, he chose to hold onto it with both of his own, tenderly as he lifted himself back up from his bow.

"Icky promises," He began again, a look of genuine care on his features, "He'll tell you of his issues sometime. He merely... Needs time to himself."

"But Icky-..." Taffy started, but trailed off as Icky let go of his hand gingerly. When Icky looked over and nodded to High, Taffy was put upon High's back of palm, starting to be carried away.

"You two can sort things out soon, okay?" High mused, though still drowsily, "Resting is pretty important right now..." Whether Icky heard Taffy's response to him remained questionable as he seemed to tune it out, silence becoming the only thing surrounding him.

For the first time in several days, Icky finally began to feel some signs of inner peace, as if the stress and tension was starting to ease away. High had been right, Taffy had been right, and things were going to be okay. That's how it should've felt, except...

Icky had the strangest feeling that he wasn't alone. As if it was a part of his supernatural senses, he could literally feel a pair of eyes staring upon him, watching his every move. Despite how he initially thought of it as more paranoia, he turned to face the direction from where it came from, growling into the unknown.

"Don't think that Icky cannot defeat you by himself!" He spoke out with vigor, "He doesn't need _anyone_ to be his knight! Icky is not helpless!" Silence reigned in after his words, aside from a slight echo. A few moments passed before he called out again. " **SHOW YOURSELF!** " The bushes and branches began to shake and part, someone appearing out of them soon enough.

Bonker.


	4. 4-5

_**4/5**_

"I was really enjoying the show," The newcomer replied, as causal as could be, "Until, you know, you relented. You really should've just finished him off, because you had him right where it would've been so easy to pin it on suicide. You'd leave absolutely no evidence, and I could've helped you come up with a solid alibi. Why'd you stop, Ickybod?"

Icky's expression began to change, to one that clearly showed offense against the clown's words. "You..." Icky began in his reply, though hesitated for the briefest of moments, "You're the one who's been the filthy liar all along; making Icky believe such horrible things about the others with your profound heresy." Despite his tone, Bonker merely tsked him.

"I never lied, Ickybod," He smirked, still completely unintimidated by Icky's stance, "I only said that I could be mistaken, remember? While I still stand on what I believe in, I never ever ever made you believe anything, only warn you. All you did was come to believe it by yourself. You researched, right? Came to the came conclusions I did?"

"But," Bonker continued, but then paused, pulling out and putting on a second pair of gloves. "It's just you and me, now - what good could that cowardly hand and that near-mortally injured candy freak do to stop me?" Another pause, the gloves snapping into place in his fingers. "Remember when I said that my last visit wasn't an evil one, 'this time'? Well, _this time,_ it is."

Icky examined the appearance of the gloves for only a few moments, before he immediately bolted for the mansion, phasing through the shut doors, and afterwards starting to barricade it to the best of his ability. _I know that pair of gloves,_ He mused in his mind as he did so, _Dr. Kiln was tinkering with them before, and used me to experiment their effectiveness. They're spirit-proof - If Bonker gets a hold of me, I can't escape! I suppose I could've just vanished to the Ethereal Plane, but I can't just run and hide forever... Instead, I must put a stop to his plans, for good._

Directly after the barricade was complete, Icky phased through the various floors of the mansion, until he was at the highest point, choosing to look out the window of the room he was in. It was here when he focused his thoughts on communicating with those of the Ethereal Plane. Unknowing to him, his gourd's facial holes began to literally light up, as though there was a bright candle within.

 _Forseena, siritus parre Nun-Ether,_ His mental voice echoed in his mind and all around. He was sure Bonker could hear it too, somehow. _Forseena, kara willst Ichabao Moudo!_ As he mentally cast those foreign words, he could feel the earth shake, strong winds taking hold from outside. All this, and Icky could soon hear wails and yells of deceased spirits ravage objects in his home, such as tables and vases.

From where Bonker was trying to stand, he witnessed dozens of zombies, skeletons and ghosts of various kinds coming forth from the graveyard, yet dozens more breaking the door down from the nearby crypt. While anyone seeing a sight like this would turn on their heels and run from this haunted place, Bonker only saw it as a challenge, breaking out his well-used mallet. With conviction, he simply spoke out to them, "I ain't afraid of no ghosts."

 _Holka ih fenrir...!_ Icky soon finished, right afterwards dropping to the floor on his side. Phasing through took too much energy, so instead he hit the floorboards with an audible thump. The light in his gourd's facial holes faded out, leaving Icky to pant from exhaustion.

 _It took so much energy!_ He found himself thinking, _After that bout with Taffy, I'm surprised I still had enough in me to summon all of those spirits..._ He took a few minutes to regain himself, hearing the sounds of yells and other general violence from outside the window. It was clear that war had broke loose.

Eventually, Icky got the strength to rise to his tail, starting to be able to float above the ground again, but not without a good hold on the window sill. From here, he looked in on the fighting that took place, beginning to see his army slowly bend to the clown's undeterring will.

 _If he defeats all of them,_ Icky pondered internally, starting to feel uneasy, _What'll I do then? I only hope I gain the strength to fight him myself. I'm so tired... But by then, so should he. Even clowns don't have unlimited energy reserves._ He paused for a little while longer, seeing Bonker kick a zombie in the face hard enough to dismember its head, then bashing a skeleton in the ribs with enough force to break its bones. _Maybe the strength of my army is dictated by how much energy I had to sacrifice... I'll need a plan of rescue should everything go wrong, just in case._

There were loud thuds as Bonker threw a few skeletons against the front doors of the mansion, chortling in mirth. "You Undeads have nothing against me!" He soon spoke, "In fact, you're about as good as punching bags! I'm so disappointed, Ickybod... Hiding behind weaklings of an army. Didn't you say that you didn't need a knight? What a laugh!" Moments after his words, more thuds were heard, it being clear that Bonker noticed that the doors weren't going to open so easily.

 _Taffy was always a quick healer,_ Icky continued to muse to himself, it causing him to tune out whatever Bonker had said, _He was right as rain hours after fighting Bonker... What I put him through was only a fraction of that, at most. But this won't be about fighting, but distraction._

There was a much louder sound of a crash, signaling that Bonker finally managed to break through the barricade. It's only then when Icky was snapped out of his thoughts, though by now was able to carry himself unaided. As he overheard more sounds of violence from floors below, Icky began to mentally prepare himself for what was inevitable. _It begins, Clown._

From where he was, Bonker broke floating vases and bashed against lunging tables, dodging against projected knives and who knew what else. The sounds of shrieks and groans continuously assaulted his ears as he pressed on, fighting back the Ethereal denizens and hopping up stairs. Although at this point it would seem normal to feel even the slightest bit of tiredness, he wasn't, somehow. In fact, he felt like he was on a constant sugar-high, energized indefinitely.

With a final kick, the door to the room Icky was in was opened, revealing the poltergeist on the other side. As Bonker stepped into the room, he noticed something about Icky's form, aside from the fact that his back was turned. His entire body seemed to have this strange, green, flaming aura around it. Bonker couldn't think of any other time where Icky had gone to these lengths.

One thing was for sure, however; he knew of his presence, and was willing to do whatever it took to preserve himself.

Icky sharply turned to face the clown, his expression loaded with frightening anger. Bonker took initiative once again, sprinting over to the poltergeist to begin his assault. In response, Icky let out a war cry of a shriek, followed by a reverbed " **SUFFER, WORM!** "

The two collided at last, soon after getting lost in their battle. At first, it seemed like it would last a century, the both at an impasse when it came to power and skill, agility and dexterity. Yet, even for as long as it actually lasted, it ended up feeling a lot shorter than it was, and Icky eventually found himself collapsed onto the floorboards again, this time injured beyond fighting condition. Bonker didn't give him any chance of escape, coming over and taking Icky by the wrist, tightly.

Without even forcing him upright, he then began to drag Icky down every set of stairs and every hall to the mansion's foyer, all the while letting out a wickedly loud laugh of mirth. At some point, they reached the graveyard, but the dragging failed to stop there; it was as though it didn't matter to Bonker if Icky could follow him or not - he just wanted to get the job done. The two left the graveyard behind, and it was then at last when Bonker pulled Icky upright by the pumpkin stem, looking deeply into his empty eyeholes. His voice fell to a whisper, though giddy by all means.

"Thanks for doing most of the work for me," He stated to him, "If only I knew that I could've just used your friendship with him against you both!"

The emotions Icky began to feel, he finally seemed to understand. It was terror, and it was unusual for the poltergeist.

* * *

Taffy and High were still on their way to the wreckage site, Taffy now able to walk unaided and was snacking on something sweet. _I know Icky told him to escort me there 'cause I could barely move,_ Were his thoughts as he secretly stared down at the hand crawling beside him, _But... Weirdly, I don't wanna just tell him to fuck off. Things between Icky and I are already kinda shaky..._

"Say, Taffy?" High asked lightly, pulling Taffy from his thoughts. "Can I ask something?"

"Yeah, shoot," Was Taffy's only response as he popped another piece of candy in his mouth, looking away now.

"How do you heal so fast? I mean, you looked so bruised up when we..."

"I donno why," Taffy started in his answer, a small sigh escaping from him, "But I was always like that. I could get beaten down and hurt really freakin' bad, but in just hours I'd be up and at 'em again. Now, if I lost a lotta spillits or somethin' worse, it'd take a whole lot longer, without eatin' any sugar, that is."

"That sounds SO COOL!" High exclaimed this time, even if his lack of energy made it seem less enthused. Taffy couldn't help it when he chuckled a bit, it being genuine.

"Heh, yeah... It kinda is." There was silence afterward, with Taffy slipping into his thoughts again. _He probably already knows why Icky was so upset and angry, and also the only one he could trust. Dammit, I'm too late..._

"Y'know..." Taffy started vocally this time, trailing off in hesitation as his expression turned guilty. "I'm jealous of ya. Icky can trust ya with anythin', when normally it's me he could tell anythin' to. Instead, he shut _me_ away. What'd I even _do?_ Did I say somethin' nasty? Or was it..." He paused for a moment, before he seemed to understand. "Oh, God. I get it." It's by now that the both of them stopped walking, with High turning concerned all over again.

"It's who I am now, isn't it?" Taffy began again in a mumble, though his voice raised in due time, "He hates the way I am now, not that I blame him. I'm comin' off as someone who just didn't care 'bout findin' his long-lost friend! I mean, everythin' 'bout our lackluster reunion felt all wrong. But then ya two... Ya two did it just perfectly. No wonder he went off on me, no wonder he pushed me away and shut me out..."

"Man, I'm sorry for feelin' so jealous of ya," Taffy then continued after a bit longer, though left the last portion as only a thought, _I'll just have to settle for number 2, I guess; I've already been replaced._

"Hey, it's alright; I forgive you!" High immediately replied to the apology, his tone truthful and not hurt in any way, "You did come first, after all." While Taffy was relieved to hear High's answer, he couldn't help but have something else come to mind.

"... Do ya think that Icky'll forgive me for my snarky horseshit?" Despite the wording, Taffy's tone was strangely meek, and tinged with worry.

"Of course he would, in a heartbeat's notice!" High said in a more cheerful manner, as if hoping for it to rub off on Taffy, "Because in the end, you're still very important to Icky, and he'd hate to have to lose you! Believe me when I say this; he may seem close to me, but I could never replace you." This time, Taffy's relief was feigned, only for High's sake as he began to take another piece of candy to eat.

"Thanks for that," He quietly spoke as he did so. The two would've started on their journey again, only for High to suddenly freeze up. Taffy went to speak his curiosity, only to be cut off by High lightly shooshing him. He then remained silent and confused as agonizing moments of silence passed around them. After a while longer, High suddenly turned to Taffy.

"Icky's in danger, but he's got a plan to get out of it!" He started, "I wasn't supposed to tell you or anyone this, but Bonker's alive, and he's kidnapped Icky." Taffy's eyes went wide, recalling how things ended between him and the clown, it leaving Taffy in disbelief as he vividly remembered shooting the guy in the face, point-blank. This train of thought quickly turned to rage as he balled a hand into a fist.

"That fuckin' ASSHOLE was probably the cause of all this drama shit!" Taffy boomed unintentionally, before he made himself settle down long enough to think straight. "Though, I admit I didn't make things any better... What do we gotta do?"

"Okay, so," High paused for a split second, remembering what exactly he was told to repeat, "We have to make our way to the Toy Factory, but split up at the Courtyard's entrance. I would then sneak in to Icky's location while you cause a distraction for Bonker. Once it's safe, I'll rescue Icky and then all three of us will run away to a safe place!" After hearing all about it, Taffy nodded in agreement, and the two promptly set off for the area in question, Taffy stashing his sweets for later.


	5. 5-5

_**5/5**_

Icky struggled feebly against the strangely resilient gloves that held him at bay, one keeping his wrists tied together, while the other was tied to the tip of his tail, the opposite end of the latter nailed firmly to the ceiling. Thus, Icky was hung upside down, unable to escape and hardly could move. Through the vision from his pumpkin head, he watched as Bonker removed it from his body, appearing amused by it all.

"You were saying about making people squirm like a worm, Ickybod?" He asked in a chilling manner, only to not receive a response from the head he was carrying. Yet, he was undeterred, placing it upon a counter nearby other valued pie ingredients, along with a blender.

Upon closer inspection, Bonker noticed that the stem of the pumpkin was affixed to a prior carved hole on the top, and without a moment's notice, popped it off to peek inside. Icky's expression turned to one of violated disgust, but yet didn't say a word. When Bonker had stopped, he seemed to pout for a short while, but of course nothing was going to stop this clown baddie from doing what he wanted. Tossing away the cap of the pumpkin, Bonker then reached into his hat and whipped out his mallet, Icky immediately realizing what was to come next.

"You know, I've smashed many a watermelon with this thing," Bonker giggled, clearly showing not a trace of shame, "So what good would a hollowed pumpkin do against this mallet of mine? None, is what!" With a full-on laugh this time, he reeled back to strike, before his mallet crashed forward. Icky squeezed his eyeholes shut in preparation of the incoming strike.

When an even louder sound occurred from outside, Bonker stopped his mallet a mere half-inch from Icky's face. Bonker had paused, pulling his mallet away to listen for any further sounds, even cleaning out an ear and finally cupping it. Sure enough, some moments later more noises were heard, each one seeming to be crashing sounds. In this way, it felt as though they were intentional, so Icky had to pretend to be as confused as Bonker was.

A _ding_ sounded from the oven, it's call for the baker alerting Bonker's attention to it, but only briefly. Soon it was that Bonker came to a decision, putting away his mallet to put on some oven mitts, removing something from the oven and shutting it off. Afterwards, he turned to Icky's head, smirking down at it.

"Well well well, look who decided to play the Hero after all," He started, his tone casual despite the noises now making it clear who was causing the ruckus, "Of course you'd make such a back-up plan of rescue Ickybod, but I'm afraid that it won't work, for you see..." A few moments later, his expression turned more twisted and menacing.

"He's _decades_ past his expiration date."

This was followed by another fit of clownish laughs, even though they well surpassed normality. Now carrying the oven-baked secret behind his back, Bonker set out of the room he was in to confront the apparent noisemaker.

"Now, be a good ghost and don't go anywhere! Not that you _can_ , anyway." His only response was a violent hiss of aggravation. Bonker ignored it.

"Holy fizz, FINALLY!" He immediately heard Taffy say in apparent irritation, "I was startin' to think ya were NEVER gonna come outta hidin'. Now, cut the horseshit; Where. Is. Icky?" The question was drawn out and to the point, which was what Taffy had intended. He even found that he'd grit his teeth when asking. Bonker took a moment, before he revealed his secret item.

"Gee, everyone is so angry today," He spoke in a nonchalant manner, before he addressed the item in his mitted hands, even frowning a bit, "Anyway, he's right here. I was warned to not bake his head into a pie because it'd kill him, but I didn't listen..." Moments of silence passed following this statement, Taffy's expression changing from anger to shock, as if begging.

"... This ain't funny, assclown," He attempted to retain his composure, but it was clear that he couldn't keep from stuttering, "Only ya could have such a sick sense of humor, so this has gotta be a joke, right? ... Right?"

"Nope, not even close to one," Bonker replied, sighing a bit from it all, "Ickybod really is right here, and he's gone. You're too late." Taffy's legs gave out as he fell to his knees, his expression changing into something far different, one that Bonker couldn't really recognize. It seemed like a cross between remorse, guilt, and trauma, but they were only guesses.

"You know..." Bonker started again after a short while of seeing this sight, "He did manage to give a spoken will before his unlife ended. I still remember every word, so at least that can be fulfilled." Taffy was silent the entire time Bonker spoke of this, thus he was able to continue on without fear of interruption.

"Ickybod requested for everyone to have a piece of the pie, so they all can carry a part of him, forevermore. However, no slice can be any bigger than yours, because you're the most important person he knows." He paused, awaiting any sign of an answer from the candy ClayFighter, only to find that he was still silent, though by now, starting to quiver. Bonker approached him, finding that the pie was now cooled enough to be handled without mitts, and thus pulled out a harmless butter knife.

"Oh, come now, sure you were too late to save him, but..." He continued once more, practically handing both objects into Taffy's hands, a bit surprised to find that even in his stupor, his grip was still unaffected. "It's never too late to heed his final requests. It'd make him so happy, right? So, do eat up!" Their eyes were locked for a while after, before yet _another_ noise caught Bonker's attention, tearing his gaze away from Taffy to follow the source of this new commotion.

"Now, whatever could it be _this_ time?" He asked himself as he began to walk away, "Don't go anywhere! Not that you would _want_ to, anyway..."

 _This can't... No...!_ Taffy jumbled about in his thoughts, _This can't be happenin'! It just CAN'T! How could we be too late? How?_ He could only stare down at the things in his hands - one carried what used to be the head of Icky, and the other a knife to carve out a slice of the pie. _If this is a nightmare, I wanna wake up now! Please, no no no, please... This can't be..._

Taffy slumped down into a seating position, his vision becoming blurred and impaired by the onslaught of tears. _To think, the last time I was able to see him was after he beat the shit outta me. Why couldn't it have been me to be killed? He didn't deserve this! He didn't deserve ANYTHIN' bad!_ Once more, he looked to the pie that was held in one of his hands.

 _Just the THOUGHT of takin' a single bite outta this thing is makin' me queasy,_ He continued on after a pause, finding himself beginning to hyperventilate the more he carried on with the idea, but eventually forced himself to proceed, although it felt more like he was on auto-pilot. _But... But this is what he wants. I can't say no to that, not to him..._

* * *

 _Oh my GOD, WHY DID I JUST DO THAT?_ This thought immediately followed after mere minutes, Taffy dropping the pie and knife from his hands to cover his mouth and stomach. _Keep it down, gotta keep it down...! This is... This is what Icky wants...!_ He soon found himself feeling disoriented, but knew it wasn't because of any kind of suspicious ingredient in the pie, but rather his own distress, anxiety, and queasiness. Even as he tried to calm himself, he ended up fainting, landing upon his side.

When consciousness started to be reclaimed, Taffy slowly blinked his eyes open, having to wait a few moments for his eyes to refocus, finding that he was somewhere very different, and somehow upright. Due to his faint recovering state, his sense of touch felt dulled, but he could tell that his limbs were stretched. As he regained alertness, he suddenly let out a small yelp as pain coursed through his hands and feet, it being sharp and obvious, almost as if something was...

Immediately he rotated his eyestalk around in a frantic way, only to see that sharp hooks impaled his palms and soles, and that from the way he was positioned, were also keeping him stationary. At the same time, he heard faint sounds of something small and hard hitting the floor, realizing that the smallest of his red candy spillits were slowly leaking from these spots.

"Oh good, you're awake," Taffy had little time to think about what was going on before he heard Bonker address him from across the room, seeming to have just returned from elsewhere. In his hand was now a meat cleaver. "Just in time, too."

Taffy was completely unable to hide the wild fear in his eyes and demeanor, deep down wanting to ask what for, but already had a good idea. He lightly squirmed, only to immediately relent as the pain worsened from the action, sucking in his breath all the while. Bonker saw this and merely chuckled.

"If you _really_ wanted to, you could escape," He followed this afterward, starting to approach Taffy now, "But only if you could withstand the pain. Also, luckily the pie survived the fall you gave it, but more food will be on the way shortly..." From the last bit, Taffy immediately realized the purpose of his situation, as well as the cleaver in Bonker's possession.

Bonker merely gave a devilishly prideful expression as he continued, "I wonder how effective a knife made for meat cleaving would do against taffy, but there's only one way to find out!" When he was in front of Taffy entirely, he suddenly made a puzzled face.

"This is a strange way to be taking this," Bonker spoke his confusion, "You should be happy, because, well, don't you miss Ickybod?" When all Taffy could do was give a very slight nod, Bonker continued, "Wouldn't you want to see him again?" It was by this point that even when the candy ClayFighter gave another nod, his eyes begun to water again, this time from fear.

"Oh, that's good," Bonker seemed to ignore these expressions, "I'll be sending you on your way, but... Only after a bit of 'fun'. I can't just let you get away with showing me up some days ago as is; you understand." After this, Bonker used his other, empty hand to grip roughly at the bottom of Taffy's eyestalk, pulling his face forward so that their eyes were locked. Bonker gave him a deep, cold glare.

"Any last words, you rotten nobody?" Were his next words, his tone suddenly gritty, spiteful, and almost mocking. With the last bit of strength Taffy had through his voluminous amounts of fear, he gave the quietest of replies.

"I... Hate you. Cheater..."

The last word Taffy spoke caused Bonker to draw back, letting go of him in order to do so. Looking upon the helpless Taffy before him, he actually seemed to hesitate, before he soon pushed it aside. As Bonker reeled back his arm to aim for one of Taffy's shoulders, he started again, this time letting out a more sickening laugh, "Feel free to scream as loud as you want, because no one can hear you!"

Taffy had begun to prepare himself for the impending hit, but was soon surprised to find that it never came, on account of the lights going out. Everything fell into pitch black, and from the way he heard Bonker was stepping away and how his voice seemed to gradually quiet down, it suggested that he was leaving the room.

"Of all times? Really now, the power's going to be stupidly unreliable..."

While the candy ClayFighter was still terrified and his candy heart pounded away in his chest, he began to feel uncertain as to what was going to happen next. The worst possibility would be that this was just a small delay from the inevitable. However, before too long into this train of thought, he heard a voice in his mind, one that was all too familiar.

 _Do not believe anything Bonker has told you,_ Were the words, Taffy finding it hard to believe what he'd just heard, _High will come get you when the power returns._ The next thing he knew, Taffy had forgotten to breathe, gasping in air while a relieved smile formed along with his tears, now of happiness.

 _Thank Willy Wonka yer alright after all...!_ He thought to himself, though wondered if Icky had heard it as well. Not too long after this, Taffy heard something he never thought he'd ever hear in his life - Bonker screaming in fear, and accompanying it was a familiar, signature spooky laugh of triumph. All Taffy could do while being unable to move was listen to the ruckus that followed.

Eventually, Taffy squinted his eyes in surprise as the lights returned, vaguely noticing a giant Human hand crawling in quickly. When Taffy's eyes adjusted to the light, the very first thing he saw was Icky, chasing after Bonker from around the building. He relished every millisecond he had to see this, a tiny part of him believing that it would be his last, and didn't want to repeat the same mistake earlier tonight. High allowed him this moment, waiting until it'd passed to address Taffy.

"Okay, I'm going to get you out of those," He soon announced, and from noticing Taffy wince from the idea, softened his tone as he added, "Don't worry, I'll be as gentle as possible. Now c'mon, let's take it one limb at a time..."

"Hnngh, thanks," Taffy grunted with a pained face as this happened, but bared it. Even if the pain remained afterward, Taffy found himself feeling even more relief from the fact that it was over. Not much later, he found himself sitting upon the back of High's palm, being carried out of the building. Taffy knew exactly where they were going, and although he wished he could stay around Icky, he knew it wasn't part of the original plan. So, he didn't complain.

Back at their safe spot, High was just finishing up with bandaging Taffy's wounds when they heard the rustle of jungle leaves, Icky revealing himself soon after. Taffy had cut himself off from whatever conversation he and High were having, looking over at Icky instead, then taking notice that he sported a new jack o' lantern head. Although it wasn't much different from the one Icky used before, Taffy still noticed a few changes - mostly in the face.

"Heya," He tried to sound casual, but he couldn't keep from allowing a small stutter, "How'd it, er, go?"

"Well," Icky started in his reply, floating over to the two of them as he dusted himself off, "Let's just say that Icky, quote unquote, 'took out the garbage'." The other two didn't seem to understand what Icky meant by this, but then decided to not question it or ask for details on the matter. Instead, the three of them started on their way back to the wreckage site, although Taffy was still sat upon the back of High's palm.

"Apparently we're callin' it the Rubbage Reef," Taffy idly spoke when they initially arrived.

"How filthy..." Icky responded in a similar tone, finding the idle chit-chat a bit relieving from the overwhelming feeling of awkwardness that he was sure all three of them felt. As for High's case, it was simply for the fact that the other two were feeling it.

"Yeah, I know," Taffy added soon after, "It ain't home, but whatcha gonna do..."

"Not even this whole ISLAND and his mansion could compare to what was once home," Icky sighed in agreement.

The three paused when they reached the beach, at first not even noticing it until High had stopped. Confusion welled within Taffy when High promptly slid him off of the back of his palm, he letting out a small "He-Hey!" Soon after, High started to crawl away somewhere.

"Dude, what the Hell?" Taffy uttered after managing to sit upright, grunting all the while from the pain in his palms and soles, "What's yer deal? I know yer tired, I mean we kinda ALL are, but seriously?" He and Icky were both taken aback by High's next response.

"I'm going back to sleep," He'd started, pausing to turn and tell them this, "As for you two, talk things out because quite frankly, you're both being such drama kings! Icky, you're being so unbelievably cagey about your feelings; and Taffy, you've got this insecure jealous complex that needs to be addressed! Now GOODNIGHT!" His only response from the two of them were stunned silence, followed by a small nod. Finally, High let out a small huff, leaving the two of them to their own devices.

"... Wow, I didn't know he could be so, uhm, forward? Blunt?" Taffy couldn't help but to comment as Icky sat down on the beach beside him, their gazes avoiding each others'.

"Yes, well," Icky replied not long after this, "High doesn't usually get so worked up, but it shows that he cares about us. We owe it to him to settle things." Taffy didn't respond vocally, but he nodded a bit, although he was unsure if Icky saw it.

"You... Were jealous?" Icky continued when he got this lack of reply, as if urging Taffy. The other sighed next to him, uneasily.

"... Yeah," Taffy finally admitted, slowly, "I mean, bein' jealous of Bonker for pretty much rainin' on my sideshow fame parade was one thing, but..."

"But...?" Icky continued to prod.

"... But then, I got jealous of High," Taffy then proceeded, sounding ashamed at this point, "For a totally different reason. 'Cause, ya know... I used to be the one who ya could tell anythin' to. Then, ya know how all this shit went down..." Taffy trailed off here for what felt like hours, but Icky waited patiently for more information. "I thought I was replaced, okay? Ya didn't feel what ya did for me anymore, you'd moved on. ... But I hadn't..."

The last three words were so squeaky, that Taffy made himself stop there, but only just so he wouldn't break down in front of Icky. Even if he knew that Icky wouldn't see it as weak, he still resisted. Icky meanwhile, wasn't sure what to say, or what to think.

 _It's... Ultimately awful, for the two of us to endure this, but..._ Icky decided instead to think to himself, _The fact Taffy was_ jealous _of High... He truly does care about me, if he felt replaced..._ Icky wasn't sure how much more time passed, looking to the Moon for consoling, advice, _anything_...

"I, uhm..." Taffy uttered at long last, his tone more stabilized by now, "I like yer new head... Especially the triangle eyes." Icky found himself feeling surprise from this statement, turning his head to face Taffy at long last. He saw Taffy peek over at him from the corner of his eyes, darting away for a few moments, before seeming to steel himself. With the best of his ability, Taffy turned to face Icky entirely, forcing his brown-eyed gaze to not leave Icky's gourd. While it was clear that Taffy wasn't exactly comfortable with doing so, he still gave it his all.

"I mean, it's just..." Taffy started again, grunting slightly all the while and trying to ignore the pain, "I know it's not a fashion statement or anythin', but like... The triangles make the whole face more spooky than the round eyes of yer last one, the stem looks so smoothly cut, like more than usual, and I kinda like how the pumpkin itself looks a bit 'old', with the faded orange and fizz. I donno, to me it just looks so... You? With yer likin' to old-fashioned things, and it's pretty much yer core and stuff?"

Through this whole, strangely deep analysis of his replacement head, Icky felt stunned, not even realizing that he too turned his whole body to face Taffy. Then, when he finished, Taffy chuckled nervously with a tiny smile.

"Thank you," Icky finally found sense in himself again, replying with a gentle tone. Through this, Taffy found it a bit easier to speak.

"Thank ya too," Was what he soon said, "Ya really saved my ass." To that, it was Icky's turn to unleash a small chuckle, followed by a short sigh.

"Bonker was wrong about you," He started again after a few moments more, "It was his words that made Icky feel uneasy as of lately. It got to the point where he had trouble sleeping and... Well, lashed out at the one he held most dear to begin with... You."

"Well..." As much as Taffy appreciated the words and long-awaited explanation, he couldn't help but believe that he was just as guilty. "To be fair, I wasn't exactly actin' like a close friend to begin with. Instead I was bein' a total jerkface, so I don't blame ya for thinkin' the way ya did." He paused for a minute, looking away from Icky, but soon met his gaze again as he continued.

"If High thought ya were bein' the cagey one, then I was just as badly," He started, eventually starting to speed up and derail his sentences, "I should've been more honest with my feelins of friendship, instead of actin' like I was takin' it for granted. I mean, considerin' that we've been separated for a few years, that wasn't how I should've greeted ya and what I should've done was give ya a big hug and say 'HEY MAN I NEVER THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YA AGAIN HOLY FIZZ HI' and-"

He was stopped by Icky putting a hand over his mouth, shushing him lightly. This was followed by Icky unleashing another, louder chuckle of mirth from it all, a grin forming on his gourd.

"Oh, Taffy..." He started in his reply as his chuckle died down, "Icky really should've had more faith in you, despite your new-found sourness. It's because the color of your soul wisp is still mostly the same color from when we met so long ago." When Taffy rose an eyebrow in confusion, Icky explained, "Yes, mostly the same, aside from the fact it's now more saturated, showing a more open, expressive person. So instead, Icky should've tried harder to find acceptance in your change, because it happens with everyone, including Icky himself!" Icky noticed that Taffy was wanting to try to remove his hand, so Icky slowly pulled it back to allow him to speak again.

"Heh, ya do seem a lot more mature than before," Taffy replied not long afterward, "Not tryin' to pick fights with people like ya used to; remember that?"

"Oh, do _not_ get Icky started on _that_ mess of a past," Icky replied in a curt manner, waving a hand with a small giggle, but it soon erupted into the two of them laughing over it regardless. Finally, they both let out a sigh in unison, Taffy picking up the conversation again with a changed topic.

"Let's just agree that we both fucked up in some way," He said, only to see Icky nod in approval.

"Agreed..." Icky added. More time passed between the two, at least long enough for Icky to notice that the Moon had moved from where it once was. It was then when Taffy spoke up once more.

"Hey, uh..." His tone was uneasy again, hesitating as his hand reached out to Icky, doing his best to ignore the pain. "Are we... Okay? Are we still friends...?" Icky brought out both of his own, holding onto Taffy's hand and arm gingerly, looking down upon them.

" _Best_ friends," Icky replied, softly but certain. Taffy decided to ask one more thing after that, wanting to be absolutely sure.

"Forever...?" This time, Icky looked upward, gazing deep into Taffy's eyes, hoping it would help cement his next answer for the both of them, even saying it slowly to ensure he wasn't misheard or misunderstood.

"Forever," Icky purposefully waited a few moments longer to let the single term sink in their minds before he promptly brought Taffy into an embrace, holding him closely. From it all, he felt Taffy shudder from in his arms, as if he was trying feverishly to not break into tears; this, however, made Icky do so first. Thus, even when Icky found himself sounding uneven in his tone, he did his best to add this next bit in, wanting to make damn sure Taffy never doubted it again.

"Icky would _never_ replace you."


End file.
